


Surprise

by MoonOwl



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Birthday, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-31
Updated: 2014-03-31
Packaged: 2018-01-17 16:03:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1393789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonOwl/pseuds/MoonOwl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It has recently come to the attention of Armin Arlert that Titan Shifters get much sicker, for much longer, than average humans do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> There's an hour left my time of Eren's birthday, so I'm technically not late.

It has recently come to the attention of Armin Arlert that Titan Shifters get much sicker, for much longer, than average humans do.

“His regeneration has weakened his immune system,” Hanji had told him. “What you get in the power to regrow your limbs you lose in the power of fighting off germs. It's a biological mechanism to keep populations at bay, at least, that's what I theorize it as.”

Armin wanted to say that the total known population of Titan Shifters was about five, so keeping the population low couldn't be an entirely important issue for the species, but he bit his tongue. Hanji knew much more about biology than he did, whereas he found his strengths in strategy, history, and the earth science. (So, essentially, anything that made the government suspicious of him.) 

He also bit his tongue because it was his fault that Eren was sick in the first place. A nasty case of the common cold had been floating among the new recruits to the Special Operations Squad. Not knowing that Eren was so susceptible to viruses, Armin had let his boyfriend kiss him while running slight fever and experiencing a bad cough. Although Eren almost always was the one to instigate the kisses, Armin couldn't help but to feel guilty.

Besides, Eren is now out cold on his sixteenth birthday. 

Armin had planned out the day for them. It was nothing spectacular or grand, there really is never much to do while in the Scouting Legion aside from fight Titans and plan to fight Titans. Armin wanted to act like that, for a day, that things were little bit more like old times. Recently, the Commander had trusted him with a book, a very special– and very illegal book, on the history of the world outside of the Walls. The Commander said that it was a gift to him to celebrate how much he had grown as a strategist since enlisting, and Armin wanted to share this gift with Eren. Eren loved it when Armin read to him, and history was a particular favorite of his. Armin had a slight bias towards reading about marine and earth science, but he could understand why Eren loved hearing about the grand battles of lands past. While books about the earth were rare, books about the history of the world before the Walls were even rarer. 

It could have been a perfect gift to read to Eren, but that isn't going to happen now that Armin has gotten Eren so sick. 

The doctor comes in and out. Time and time again, she tells the children that Eren appears to be fine, that he'll make it. He just happens to be completely wiped out and exhausted. 

The doctor exits the room, leaving only the trio to themselves. Armin has the book that Erwin gave him sitting in his lap. His folded hands lay atop the red hardcover. Mikasa sits in a chair beside him. She's quiet, as per usual, but even more so today as a result of Eren's illness. 

Armin reaches out a hand and brushes Eren's bangs out of his face. Normally his hair is soft, but from the days spent in bed and the fever raging in his forehead, it's now coarse and sweaty. Armin's hand travels to Eren's cheek, caressing the clammy skin. 

“Don't blame yourself,” Mikasa says, scratching the bridge of her nose. “I mean, you did make him sick, technically, but he's too reckless himself. It was his decision to continue to still kiss you all the time.” 

“Heh,” Armin laughs weakly. He lightly taps his fingers against the binding of the book and bites his lower lip. 

“You should still read to him. It is his birthday, after all.” Mikasa says, after a moment. 

“He won't hear any of it.”

Mikasa shrugs. “He might, somehow.”

Armin isn't sure that she's right, but it's worth a shot. Besides, all of them are there. Might as well try. He takes a deep sigh and opens the book. Taking a moment to think, he reaches out a hand and gives Eren's left fingers a squeeze.

“I used to try to read to him, back...home.” Mikasa says. She says “home” so slowly, like she's trying to hold onto it. “But he would never let me. He only liked it when you read to him.”

Slowly, Armin nods. Eren had always had trouble reading. No matter how hard he tried or what teachers and tutors Dr. Yeager sent him to, the letters would never seem to make sense to his mind. So Armin would read to him instead. Eren loved books, even if he could never read more than a few sentences at a time. It was something special between the boys, no matter how dangerous it was for them to read the books they read. They didn't know everything they know now, of course. 

Balancing the book in his lap, Armin turns the page to a chapter on a civilization in ancient Asia. Eren always liked to hear about Asia. Armin suspects–no, he knows, that Eren likes it so much because it's where his sister is from.

“Around 250 AD, the oldest era of recorded Japanese history began with the Kofun Period, in which--”

Armin doesn't realize that he is still holding onto Eren's hand until he feels a squeeze. 

A wide smile creeps up onto his face. He looks over to Mikasa. She smiles in return. 

…

A few days later, Armin finds himself waking up to the sensation of kisses on his cheek. He opens his eyes to see Eren's grinning face at the edge of his bunk. 

“You up?” Eren asks after a moment.

Armin playfully rolls his eyes. “What do you think?”

“I'm sorry, I'm just...excited to see you.” Eren says, pouting affectionately. 

Armin can't help but giggle at Eren's attempt at puppy dog eyes. “So, you're finally better?”

“Yeah, I think. You know, I had this really weird fever dream while I was sick that we were outside the Walls, you, me, and Mikasa. We were...we were where Mikasa's mom is from.” Eren flashes Armin a smile. “Isn't that weird?”

Armin returns his boyfriend's smile. “Yeah, I, uh, guess it is.”


End file.
